TEHRAN: Weeks after Iran’s Supreme Leader dismissed US President Donald Trump’s letter urging a new nuclear deal, Tehran on Thursday announced that it is weighing its response to the letter from Washington, acknowledging both the “threats” and “opportunities” presented in the message.,
While Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the letter last week as deceptive and aimed at increasing pressure on Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi indicated that Tehran was still evaluating its response.
“Trump’s letter was more a threat, but it claims to have opportunities. We paid attention to all points held in the letter and will consider both threat and opportunity in our response,” Araqchi said. “There is an opportunity behind every menace.”
According to a report by Reuters, Trump’s letter set a two-month deadline for Iran to reach a deal or face tougher sanctions under his renewed “maximum pressure” campaign. Araqchi, however, reiterated that Iran would not engage in direct negotiations while Washington continues its policy of “pressure, threats, and sanctions.”
Trump had previously withdrawn the US from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which had placed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. After the US reimposed sanctions in 2018, Iran escalated its uranium enrichment well beyond the deal’s limits, fueling Western concerns that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes and remains in line with international law.
MILITARY THREATS
Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.
“If we wanted to build nuclear weapons, the US would not be able to stop it. We ourselves do not want it,” Khamenei said earlier last week.
However, Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, has jumped, the International Atomic Energy Agency said late last month.
Iran’s arch-foe Israel has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Israel and the United States were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East.
Khamenei warned on Wednesday against any military strike on Iran.
“Iran is not seeking war, but if the Americans or their agents take a wrong step, our response will be decisive and certain, and the one who will suffer the most harm is America,” he said.
Agencies